worried much? get hope

Really, who isn't? There are times when the more dire worries recede, and we are thankful for those. My family is presently not in one of those times. I am also aware of many other families that I have promised to keep in prayer for troubles of many stripes.

Thing is, have you ever noticed, (if you don't mind the Andy Rooney lead in)  that during the really turbulent times, God is so kind to us, and allows us to just dump everything in His lap? Who else really wants that? Of course our loved ones pitch in and suffer us when we are crying in our soup, but the Lord, our Blessed Mother, the angels and saints, and anyone else on the heavenly HR team actually ~love~ when we bring them our woes. And when we say, "I give up! I can't do this!"- Watch out!, heavenly par-tay!

Well, if you are anything like me, you will recognize that it is easy to forget God.  During times of trouble, He has my attention much more; and I need to keep talking to Him just to get through the day. (think He has some strategy there?)

Here is what we heard at mass yesterday.

The Greek word for worry or anxiety means "to have a divided mind."  When we are anxious, the hope in God that we store in our mind is shaken and results in divided thinking.

And-the ancient Christian symbol for hope is the anchor. Something that pulls us down to our foundation, to one fixed spot, preventing us from being washed away.

Here are Father's three things with which to fill our minds and anchor us back to Christ;

1. Reflect on Christs past. Meditate on His Passion, and His victory over the greatest suffering.

2. How Christ is present right now, as One who always shows up, and without Whom we can do nothing.

3. Place our hope in Christs promises about our future, knowing He is not out to get us, but wants us to spend eternity with Him.

Wow, God even designs homilies just for me! Well, okay, maybe for everybody else, too.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 6:25-34

  I can vouch for that last sentence.

I must say, (Martin Short's weird character from SNL in the 70's) I am greatly looking forward to Lent; a time that is full of palpable Divine Grace!

Saint Raphael, the Archangel, pray for us!

Besides Raphael, Michael and Gabriel are the only Archangels mentioned by name in the bible. Saint Raphael Archangel is one of seven Archangels who stand before the throne of the Lord.

Saint Raphael's name means "God has healed." The name of this archangel does not appear in the Hebrew Scriptures, and in the Septuagint only in the Book of Tobias. This identity came about because of the biblical story which claims that he "healed" the earth when it was defiled by the sins of the fallen angels in the book of Enoch. Tobias said that Saint Raphael Archangel caused him to have his wife and that he gave joy to Sarah's parents for driving out the evil spirit in her. He also gave Saint Raphael Archangel credit for his father's seeing the light of heaven and for receiving all good things through his intercession.

 GLORIOUS Archangel Saint Raphael, 


Great prince
Of the heavenly court,
Illustrious for your gifts
Of wisdom and grace,
Guide of those
Who journey by land or sea,
Consoler of the afflicted,
And refuge of sinners.


I beg you to assist me
In all my needs
And in all the sufferings
Of this life,
As once you helped
The young Tobias
On his travels.


And because you are
The “Medicine of God”,
I humbly pray you
To heal the many infirmities
Of my soul
And all the ills
Which afflict my body,
If it be for my greater good.


I specially ask of you
The favor of


(name it …)


And the grace
Of angelic purity,
Which makes me fit
To be the temple
Of the Holy Spirit.


Amen.

 

7 quick takes Friday #4, minus three- update

one

This week was and is chock full of world news mayhem. Some of it, here. People of my generation are not accustomed to quite so much unrest. There are some that think I am a bit naive about it, especially about the priest scandals. Maybe so. When it all gets overwhelming, I think of my dad. He was a firefighter for the Navy during WWII, and the times that he and my mother lived through, right on the heels of the Great Depression.  I remember that there is nothing new under the sun, and that God is the same, looking at all of this, not disturbed in the least. Sad, maybe for how far his beloved people have fallen, if God can be sad in that way. I only can think of earthly parents and children, even adult children, and know the deep sadness we can feel when our own are having any kind of trouble. As much as I believe in getting out and doing what we can about the evil swirling around us, I just want to pray and, yes, even fast ( I am saying it that way to MYSELF), for the state of the world. 

two

Bob and I have been asked to provide the music for Helpers of Gods Precious Infants, Philadelphia, on an ongoing basis. For about three  or four years, we have been the pinch hitters, the seminarians being the primaries. We are excited to be given this honor, and ask for your prayers that we will be able to fulfill this for God's glory.

three

Hang onto your hats, kids! Here are a few snapshots from my daily life. Today, even. I go to my local Acme a lot. Nearly every day. The people that work there sometimes laugh and say, "see you tomorrow!" Only, it's true. They are all very nice to all of my family, the manager gave my MIL flowers for her birthday. Once, Justin went with me for a quick Acme run, and everybody was saying hello, how are ya, etc...and he said, "what are you, Acme royalty?" Pretty much, or at least a minor celebrity. It's not so bad!

My sun roof looks like this today.

This is where I spend a good deal of my time.

  

 These people are the salt of the earth. Please pray for this lovely woman, who is in tons of pain with a bad knee, and has been told she should get a replacement.

four

Well, as it sometimes happens, I just got a phone call informing me that one of my daughters has just had another seizure and is on her way to the ER. So I ask your prayers, and I hope to be back to add a few more quick takes that include some good news.

 

The power of the rosary.

A detail from the Sistine Chapel.

~update~

My daughter was admitted to the hospital last night for testing.  Last night when I left she was feeling okay, except for a headache, kind of common after a seizure. Thank you for your prayers! Please continue to offer them for her and her doctors.

 

Hope

 This is my humble little plot of soil; my haven and place to go look at green things and whatever I plant each year, usually leftover Easter bulbs. A few years ago I saved a struggling mint plant from the Acme, and it voraciously took over the whole place, climbing all over everything with runners galore. We had a little taste of spring a few days ago, so I went out back and puttered about, pulling out all the dead (and surprisingly, some still alive), mint; and underneath was this! My bulbs are already trying to come up! This filled me with hope. Despite the cold, harsh, snow and ice filled winter we have had; despite the raging mint; despite the fact that the bulbs were not planted with any expertise, (or even any order); there they are! They bring so much excitement and anticipation. they are an assurance that Spring is indeed, on the way, though it be some weeks yet, these little sprouts trumpet that winter is not going to last forever!

Several years ago, I went to speak to a priest for a little spiritual direction session. I was a baby convert, still in a bad relationship, just a little prior to meeting Bob. I was in a charismatic prayer group, and this priest operated in those veins also. ( Don't get all spooked out, it was all done within Church guidelines, and he in particular is a level headed guy). I was talking about my life situation, and how I was trying to move forward, but many things were difficult and it was slow going. He prayed for me, and told me that he saw a picture of a frozen over field or garden. (in his mind-- again, no booga booga here) He said that it wasn't going to stay like that forever, but a thaw was coming and he saw little green shoots coming up. What a picture of hope! God knew I would so identify with that illustration, and that I needed to know the season I was in was not going to go on indefinitely. That priest often said things, either to me, or in homilies that were pivotal to my life. He doesn't even know the impact his words had; how his sensitivity and obedience to the Lord reached right out and helped this baby convert along.



We are going through a very rough weather period in our Church. It won't be like this forever. We can have hope, because we know the ending already. However, in a homily I heard recently, we were reminded that we pick up our crosses, not to lay them down each night, but to follow our Lord. Following where?  Calvary, and maybe even get up there and suffer and die with Him, before we get to rise with Him. I guess it really is going to be that time when we as Catholics have to set aside complacency, learn our faith, and live it.

7 (early) quick takes (#3) in lieu of Blog Abstinence Friday

one

 Blog Abstinence Friday is something my good friend Joyce over at The Little Way, thought of. Here is how she put it-

In light of the horror that has made Philadelphia the epicenter of moral decay, perhaps you will join me in making this Friday a day of blog abstinence.  We will use the time we normally spend reading our favorite blogs, commenting and posting, in prayer for all the outrages committed against the Sacred Heart of Jesus, particularly here in the City of Brotherly Love.

What do you say?  Will you join me?  We will abstain from reading and writing on Friday, February 18th.  We will offer this small sacrifice in reparation.  Can you get the word out to other bloggers?

To which I said, yes! And if you are a blogger, you may want to join us. And if you're not a blogger, you still can join us! Notice she added the reading of blogs into the mix...any act of sacrifice would be accepted...

two

As far as the Philadelphia Debacle goes, I am rendered speechless. On top of the original report last week, another, further one was released today. One that for some of us in my locale, added another layer of grief. On reading other blogs and comments, I have seen everything from soup to nuts, and all I really know is my head is spinning and I am at a complete loss to say anything. All I know to do is pray and sacrifice. A dear  priest said last Sunday that the Church is being purified.

   ouch.

three

 On Valentines Day evening, my husband and I did something I have never, ever done in all my 49 years. It was equally wonderful and terrifying. I felt so out of place, and now still, after the deed, still feel like an impostor. Other people do this all the time, but for me it has the trappings of extravagance. Not that we didn't need to do it, we did. As much as I am happy about it, I kind of hope I never have to do it again! Here is the result of our foray into the world of people who buy large items.

Both he and I figured we could live in it if it ever came to that. It is nicer than our house, after all.

four

You know you and you spouse are becoming the same person when at the same moment, at mass, no less, you both think that orange juice is going to be needed for breakfast, and feel the need to lean over and whisper about it. 

five

I never really got over the Sick from three weeks ago, and while I am not as ill as our friend,  Mary Catherine, or my daughter, Meghann, it was bad enough that I finally went to the doc and got an antibiotic. A lot of it was realizing I will be singing at the pro life mass we attend (Helpers of God's Precious Infants--Saint John the Evangelist) at 7AM on Saturday morning. After trying to teach the CCD kids a few songs on Tuesday night, I just knew it wasn't going to happen if I didn't do something. So here's hoping that the med will do a semi-miracle by Saturday morning. 7AM isn't my best time for singing to begin with!

six

In doing lots of thinking about this Lent, I am looking forward to disconnecting from TV and facebook, as I have mentioned before. But now I am beginning to think of things I want to do with that time. One is that I want to read about the Church Fathers. (Faith of the Early Fathers Volume 1 by William Jurgens, has been recommended). There was another one I can't remember now... I also plan to go through and clean the house well. The last time I did that was in November, before Meghann and Co. came for their visit. Since then, it's been pretty much downhill. And other things like that, things I neglect due to distraction and lack of custody of my emotions and poor discipline in general. My good friend Marie and I often talk about how we got more done when we worked outside the home than we do now! I also plan to blog more regularly, and improve my blogging ( I hope!). We'll see how all those best laid plans go. And not to forget, amid all our many intentions in prayer-that now we have our Church's purification process to sacrifice for as well. But remember that, as Father Corapi reminds us--No Good Friday, no Easter Sunday; No pain, no gain, ; no cross, no crown! which leads me to ---

seven

 Spring. Lots of bloggers are all a- buzz about it.  Here in Philadelphia, Spring can be an iffy affair. Sometimes we go from winter to summer, like ka-BLAM.  The coats are still laying in the hallway, when suddenly we begin to talk about putting in the air conditioners. I would love if spring and fall were much more drawn out, like, you know, more than fifteen minutes long.  I still have hope, though, for the time when we can open the windows;  and for the time when the feeling of the sun is a welcome one- before it reaches the point when we are retreating from it, closing the curtains and doors against it, and once again having to seal ourselves off from the outdoors.

Wishing you a blessed weekend--see you Monday!

Peace,

Kelly

 

7 quick takes Friday #2

One

I never thought I would say this, but when is Lent getting here? I actually do know the date, it just is SO late this year, everything feels off somehow. I keep thinking it's time to go to Dunkin Donuts.

Two

 Today we find out if Rachael is accepted at her first choice in colleges. Moore College of Art. I took her yesterday for a portfolio review and I can tell you from the sounds that were coming from behind the door, that I am sure she will get a yes. Now, if they offer her a nice fat scholarship, (which was hinted at already), we will be in business! One down--one to go. Melissa has set her sights on Villanova~ please keep that in your prayers!

Three

 Ah, the joys of mid-life! Anybody else feel like we already did the  adolescent thing once, do we REALLY have to do it over? Breakouts, mood swings, weight issues, along with the classics, sweating and sleep disturbances. Yay. But I really can't complain. I kind of like this stage of life. There is a weird freedom in aging, and kind of being released from the youth cult. Now whatever I do, even if it is a beauty regimen, I don't expect a lot. Really, it's my insides that need most of the work, and I have kept my favorite saints and blesseds, etc... busy working on that.

Four

Valentines Day! We don't get too excited about it, but this Sunday, we will be going to a dinner at Cafe Con Chocolate, where two of my daughters work/have worked. There will be live entertainment, consisting of Corrie's boyfriend, Justin, and a friend of his which we now consider ours, Dimitri Kauriga. Should be a lovely evening! Excellent food, awesome music and good friends.

Five 

Still wrangling with that depression devil, petered out with my exercise, (no thanks to the Sick), and still dismayed at the state of the world and some parts of the Church. But even with all that, I can say I feel the abiding presence of the Lord, and have a much greater degree of peace. Thankfully, He has not decided that this will be a Dark Night of the Soul-ish time for me, and I gratefully accept His consolations!  Many heartfelt thanks to all who are keeping me and my family in your prayers. I would ask that you not stop just yet. :)

Six

As we go through some of the seasons in our family life, many of the kids are reaching young adulthood, as well as other various stages in life, it can be tough to really trust God. I mean, knowing what I know about the world, and the growing up process (of which all I can really say is "ouch!") I find myself turning to the Divine Mercy prayer. When I get to the part in which I say, "Jesus, I trust in You,"  I have in the back of my mind--do I? I guess if I was going to get technical, I would say, "Jesus, I want to trust in You." Sort of like, "I believe, help my unbelief." Because I know my faith is weak, but I want to get better. (Lord, this is not a request for Faith Boot Camp.) In any case, I will keep saying, "Jesus, I trust in You," with the hopes it will sink in.

Seven 

My husband has been attending a group called The King's Men. 

 It has been a wonderful experience and faith support for him, and I highly recommend it to any man. Kudos, King's Men!

I pray that you all have a blessed, peace filled weekend!

Kelly

sick-and not the flu this time

If anyone has heard the news out of Philadelphia today, you will know what I am sick about. First Gosnell, now this. If you don't know now, it will only be a short time until the wildfire ignites. I can't bring myself to say it (or type it) out loud.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!

1. Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart; Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art. Thou my best thought, by day or by night, Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light. 2. Be Thou my Wisdom, Thou my true Word; I ever with Thee, Thou with me, Lord; Thou my great Father, I thy true son; Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

3. Be Thou my battle-shield, sword for my fight, Be Thou my dignity, Thou my delight. Thou my soul's shelter, Thou my high tower. Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power. 4. Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise, Thou mine inheritance, now and always: Thou and Thou only, first in my heart, High King of heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

5. High King of heaven, my victory won,
May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heav'ns Son!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my vision, O ruler of all.

a night to remember

And I thought it was going to be a regular Tuesday..kind of busy, but you know, average.
I went with one daughter to a doctor appointment, and another daughter that is taking part in a program in our city called Mural Arts, was going to need to get herself there on a bus this time.

*note- here is the project she is working on, called How Philly Moves. She is painting part of the little ballerina in the white tutu--so when you are driving by the airport on 95, you can think of Rachael. :) okay, little mom brag, done.

So, knowing that Rachael is not quite a veteran bus rider yet, as I got home from the doc appointment, I texted her to check in and see that she arrived safely at her destination.

It went like this-

me-you get there okay?

her-no, I'm late

me-didn't you call ahead and tell them you would be a little late today?

~mind you, while we are having this conversation (me from the computer-I don't own a cell phone), I am slinging food about, as I have to teach CCD and have to get dinner on the table and then bolt~

As I await the next reply, I go back and toss some more chicken in the pan, stir the rice, and the phone rings. It's Rachael.

her-Mom, I'm lost!

me-what!? where are you?

her- I don't know!

me- look at a street sign!

her-Hunting Park Avenue.

me-WHAT?!!! (her original destination is two blocks north of Community College of Philadelphia) Hunting Park and what?

her-(after ascertaining what I was talking about) 18th.

me-(frantically looking at the Septa schedule and map of the area) --go *here* (I'll now leave out all the particulars)--

her--which way?

and so on--for at least 30-45 minutes-until we finally got her on a bus home. And even then I called every couple minutes to see that she was okay, and progressing in the right direction. Don't forget that dinner was busily cooking away--cause I did. forget, that is.

Now I know most of you are not from Philadelphia--and the significance of the areas I mentioned don't really register, so let me fill in a bit.


Philadelphia, like it, love it, dislike it, or any feeling on the scale, is a CITY. It is not a place you can skip down the street unaware of your surroundings, even in the "nicer" areas. Her original destination is in the fringes of a bit of a scary neighborhood, I usually drive her there,and she returns on a bus, but only walks to the corner. Going north from there, it just gets worse and worse, until by the end of that bus route,(which is where she went) it is really a Godforsaken, burned out, drug infested wasteland. One in which I used to have to go through on occasion. ( in a car, windows up, doors locked, cruising through the stop signs and not making  eye contact with any of the locals).

this is the exact corner she was standing on while talking to me-


View Larger Map
and here is where she was walking around--


View Larger Map








Despite the sunny day in the picture, this is not a nice place--especially for a young girl-- let's say of a certain shade--to be walking around alone. 


I was BESIDE myself. I was so close to becoming hysterical, but I knew we needed to get her back on a bus ASAP,and that was our only remedy. Even if I tried to go and get her by car, it would have meant her standing there for some too-long time, as it was REALLY far from us, and rush hour to boot. The images in my mind of something terrible happening to her as I listened on the phone, helpless, were very, very close to overwhelming. I used to live in Germantown, and this was not far from there, and is a place that is declining and I was vividly aware of the danger.


Finally, when she was on the bus home (and I could hear in the background that even there, it wasn't any too pleasant) I called her several times until she was in familiar territory) and went into the bathroom and boo hooed for five minutes--just to let it out. By the time she came through the door and plopped on the couch, we were eating dinner (somehow, it survived)--she didn't speak for a couple hours. I had to run out and teach CCD, which was a mini circus all its own, and by the time I returned, she was better.


I felt like such a terrible mom about that. My daughter walking around the meanest streets in the city, terrified, lost. I thought that she agreed too,but she told me otherwise. Thank God, but I still feel badly. An evening of terror was not really on my radar, and took the wind out of my sails. I didn't make it to mass this morning, it is like having run a mile or something.


Today, she has this class again. I will be driving her.


 

No Parent Left Behind

I have a dear friend who is uber active in the school that her children attend. That school is having huge troubles with the teachers union making crazy demands, all the while not doing such a hot job in the actual teaching department. And my friend is on the front lines, doing everything possible to ensure that local families at least have options to ensure their kids a good education. One of those options is the establishment of a charter school.
What follows is NOT from her school district, but makes a pretty good case for charter school in general. You couldn't make it up, it is utterly hilarious; and simultaneously sad, because--it's not made up.

NO PARENT LEFT BEHIND

These are real notes written by parents in the Memphis school district.
Spellings have been left intact...


1. My son is under a doctor's care and should not take PE today. ...Please execute him. 

2. Please exkuce lisa for being absent she was sick and i had her shot. 

3. Dear school: please ecsc's john being absent on jan. 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 and also 33. 

4. Please excuse gloria from jim today. She is administrating. 

5. Please excuse roland from p.e. for a few days. Yesterday he fell out of a tree and misplaced his hip.

6. John has been absent because he had two teeth taken out of his face. 

7. Carlos was absent yesterday because he was playing football. He was hurt in the growing part.

8. Megan could not come to school today because she has been bothered by very close veins.

9. Chris will not be in school cus he has an acre in his side.

10. Please excuse ray Friday from school. He has very loose vowels.

11. Please excuse Lesli from being absent yesterday. She had the shits.

12. Please excuse tommy for being absent yesterday. He had diarrhea, and his boots leak. 

13. Irving was absent yesterday because he missed his bust. 

14. Please excuse jimmy for being. It was his father's fault. 

15. I kept Billie home because she had to go Christmas shopping because i don't know what size she wear. 

16. Please excuse jennifer for missing school yesterday. We forgot to get the sunday paper off the porch, and when we found it monday. We thought it was sunday. 

17. Sally won't be in school a week from friday. We have to attend her funeral. 

18. My daughter was absent yesterday because she was tired. She spent a weekend with the marines. 

19. Please excuse Jason for being absent yesterday. He had a cold and could not breed well. 

20. Please excuse mary for being absent yesterday. She was in bed with gramps. 

21. Gloria was absent yesterday as she was having a gangover. 

22. Please excuse brenda. She has been sick and under the doctor. 

23. Maryann was absent december 11-16, because she had a fever, sorethroat, headache and upset stomach. Her sister was also sick, fever an sore throat, her brother had a low grade fever and ached all over. I wasn't the best either, sore throat and fever. There must be something going around, her father even got hot last night.

Happy to have her here~

                    Just feels good to have her safe and sound under our roof and on our couch. ♥

7 quick takes

1. Thankfully and happily made it to 6:30 mass this AM. So far this is the first year I have been able to keep up with my First Fridays. Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us! Three more...I have only once ever made it through a whole novena...consecutively, anyways.







2. Wading, wading through the financial aid sea of forms. Two applying for college, one for next year's Catholic school.

 I am hoping to be past all this soon. Seems to be a February thing--like taxes, for us.


3.The news is all so completely unsettling. Even the weather. Poor Australia! Us too, but not nearly as catastrophic. Plus, let's not forget Egypt, Fr. E...can't spell it, but you know, health care, Planned Parenthood, "Dr." Gosnell....on and on. Lent=TV, OFF.



4.Speaking of Lent, it is going to be Fasting from Facebook, too. (gee, that sounds like a book...) The only media left will be you all! That will either be really good, or...ah, let's not think on that too hard. I guess I will still email too. Perhaps aside from not gorging, I am not planning on doing any really huge dietary thing. Just try to maintain what I have going already. How about you? what do you do--or plan to do this year?

5. Still kind of overwhelmed and fighting the depression devil. Prayers accepted. Just a lot of things hitting fans and irons in fires and whatever other cliche for overwhelmed people.


6. This is usually the time of year I get the cleaning and doing house projects bug. Still waiting. I think some other bug beat it out.


7. Scriptures I am leaning on-

 Matthew 14:22-33

 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.  After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone,  and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it  Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.  When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.  “Come,” he said.Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!^" Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.  Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” 

and-

Heb 12:1-4 Brothers and sisters: Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before him Jesus endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God. Consider how he endured such opposition from sinners, in order that you may not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood.  

this is where I am...

 

                                          ~Lord Jesus, Mother Mary, I give it all to you.~